Stranger Things Season 2: All the Fan Theories & Predictions You Need to Know

Stranger Things Season 1 became our collective obsession. The mysteries of the first season gripped us, but the finale left us with more questions than it answered. What's going on with Will and his creepy Upside Down flashes? Where is Eleven? What will #JusticeforBarb look like?

Season 2 drops on Netflix this Friday, and the people of the internet have had more than a year to theorize and predict what will happen. Here are some of the best about Stranger Things Season 2.

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1) Will is a host bringing more monsters into our world.

One of the creepiest moments of Season 1 came at the very end of the last episode, when Will was seen vomiting slugs in a scary, Upside Down-ified version of his bathroom. One theory posits that the monster from Season 1 is building a scary, monster version of our world (which is where Will flashed to in those moment) and that Will is being used as a vessel to bring more monsters into the human world (as in, those slugs are tiny baby monsters that will grow into giant, scary monsters).

2) Eleven is the Demogorgon.

This is one of the most popular and most disturbing theories about the show. First, there's some evidence straight from Eleven's mouth. In Episode 6, she literally says, "The gate. I opened it. I'm the monster." Could this just be a young, telekinetic girl being too hard on herself? Yes, of course. Could it also be a clue that she really is the monster? It's Stranger Things, so yes.

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Some Reddit users theorize that the monster isn't Eleven exactly, but a projection of her subconscious. They also point out that the Upside Down has no form until Eleven touches the Demogorgon. When she does, it goes from "black nothingness" to a world full of her own fears, manifested.

3) The monster is after energy.

In spite of many references to the monster being out for blood in Season 1, one very lengthy and elaborate fan theory says the monster is actually looking for energy.

Some of the evidence? It's attracted to lights (the pool light Barb was sitting next to, the strings of Christmas lights strung up in the Byers' home, etc.). The monster is especially attracted to Eleven, whose nickname is "El" and the boys tell people she's Swedish—"El" is Swedish for electricity. Also, she's clearly full of power herself.

It's elaborate, but it makes a lot of sense, especially with the appearance of the monster outside of a buzzing arcade in the Season 2 promo.

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4) Hopper's daughter underwent the same kind of experiments as Eleven.

While some have theorized that Eleven actually is Hopper's daughter, others think she was simply experimented on in the same way as Eleven—which ultimately led to her illness (or that she's still alive and the government faked her death, much like they faked Will's).

In a Reddit AMA, David Harbour, who plays Hopper, fielded a question about his onscreen daughter's death. When asked if he knew how she died, he said yes, but, "it[']s a secret we may explore in s2, so don't wanna say right now."

5) Nancy and Jonathan are OTP.

Even though Nancy ended up with Cool Guy Steve at the end of Season 1, many fans think that's just a temporary stop on the way to Nancy and Jonathan ending up together. The evidence is there. The camera gift. The wistful look. The pictures of them still hanging out in Season 2.

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6) The Upside Down isn't an alternate dimension—it's the future.

One Redditor suggests that the hole opened up wasn't to a different dimension, but to a new place in the space-time continuum—and the Upside Down is actually Hawkins in the future, after a devastating war.

7) The Upside Down is just a limbo dimension on the way to an even scarier place.

This theory opens the door for a lot more horrifying adventures for the kids in Season 2. According to some Reddit users, the Upside Down is not where the monsters live—it's actually a kind of gateway or "astral plane" that ties all of the other dimensions together.

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8) The Season 2 monster is the Thessalhydra.

This one seems very likely. The Season 2 monster has been called "The Shadow Monster," but most fans are now of the opinion that it's the Thessalhydra, from Dungeons & Dragons. In mythology, the monster can breed creatures, which also ties in nicely with other fan theories about Season 2.

9) Dustin has divination magic.

Dustin always seems to have a certain spidey sense for the bad mojo going on in Hawkins—and that might not be entirely a coincidence.

"Dustin has mild Divination magic or you could see it as Luck Magic and he's quite possibly the smartest of the five members of the gang," MajinMindtrick writes on Reddit. "Which is why Mike refers to him as Mr. Fantastic and why he always seems to be able to predict things like when the Demogorgon/Thesselhydra is coming, what attack to use to defeat it (remember that the first fireball failed, he wanted to cast protection), and that the lunch lady kept a massive pile of pudding."

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10) Hopper works for the government.

When Hopper got into that very ominous black car at the end of Season 1, fans took note. Some think he's an agent working with some very covert government organization to monitor the weirdness in Hawkins. Others on Reddit have suggested that he's a sleeper agent. Whatever Hopper's story turns out to be, it seems likely he'll play a bigger role than the average small-town sheriff next season.

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